Kitten and Isshin
by KarasuNoMai
Summary: Pieces written for an IchiRuki challenge. Kitten and Isshin.
1. Ginnosuke the Gikongan

**Written for the IchiRuki: A Challenge a Day event. Theme - Kitten. Date - July 9th****. Also… ehh, it might be a little off, due to my rusting knowledge of everything outside Hueco Mundo. XD But we'll see.**

--

It was no secret that Kuchiki Rukia held a certain… _passion _for all things rabbit-like.

From lop-eared to cotton-tailed, from plastic Chappy dispensers to the American depiction of the Trix yogurt mascot, she loved them all.

Kurosaki Ichigo knew this all too well.

For how many times had he been sent on an errand to the Soul Society, to pick up the newest rabbit _gikongan_ from the unseen manufacturers, or to buy the latest lapin candy creation from the Shinigami Women's Association?

Too many times, it seemed, because all the times he'd gone to fetch another new rabbit product for Rukia just seemed to blur together.

Of course, it wasn't like Ichigo really minded going and getting things for Rukia; the way her face lit up when she saw him, rabbit in hand, was enough to convince him that each trip was worth the trouble, but still it just seemed so…

_Repetitive._

--

"Ano sa… Ichigo."

The orange-haired teen's head shot up from the book it had been buried in. "Yeah?"

The petite, raven-haired shinigami smiled a small, fox-faced smile, her violet eyes sparkling mischievously in the bright light of the room.

Ichigo knew that look. Too well.

He groaned, and buried his face in his book again.

"Not again, Rukia."

She pouted at him, causing a vein to pulse in his forehead.

"What the hell happened to the one I got you last Tuesday?"

Rukia shrugged. "I ate it."

Ichigo rolled his eyes, and promptly propped himself back up against the headboard of his bed. "No way. This is just getting to the important part." He started reading his book once again, glaring aimlessly at the words in front of him.

"Really?" Rukia asked. Ichigo heard her jump off of his desk, which she had been sitting on, and walk to the side of the bed. He gripped the sides of the book harder and leered at the pages as if he could burn them. Rukia's hand appeared and grabbed the top of the book, forcing it away from Ichigo's face. "Is it more important… than _me_?"

--

Ichigo slammed the glass door shut, and stomped all the way up the stairs into his room.

Rukia was waiting for him, a cat-like expression on her face. Triumphant.

He shoved the paper bag containing her rabbit-candy into her eager hands, and fell onto the bed face-first with a muffled _thump_.

"Thank you, Ichigo!" Rukia grinned and popped the top off of her new dispenser. "I'm going to try one out, alright? They're a new line of _gikongan _from the Soul Society for shinigami."

"Mmmph." He replied.

Rukia fished out a single, green soul candy from the dispenser, and popped it casually into her mouth.

--

"How did _this_ happen?!"

"Don't ask me, darling; I had nothing to do with it, _nyah_."

"You're not Chappy!" Rukia was aghast.

"No, I am _not_. How long did it take you to figure that out, _nyah_?" The double of herself, who was, in fact, _not _herself mewled back slyly.

"… Ichigo?" She shoved the boy on the bed, who did not react.

"I bet he did this to you on purpose, _nyah_. He's not responding."

"Will you stop rubbing against my leg? What are you supposed to be, anyways?!"

"Why, my name is Ginnosuke, and I am what you might call a cat, _nyah_. I've been meaning to ask you something, as well; where is Ranji-sama, _nyah_?"

"… Renji? What do you mean, _Renji_?!"

--

Ichigo couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing into the bed.

--


	2. Annoucement

**Written for the IchiRuki: A Challenge a Day event. Theme - Isshin. Date - July 10th. Ack, I wanted to write something silly for this theme, but I ended up writing Serious!Isshin. **

--

When the day came to tell his father, Ichigo didn't know what he wanted to say.

With his dad, everything came and went in the same way; as a joking fit of random idiocy. Ichigo knew his father was capable of serious thought, but how would Isshin react, when presented with _this_ news?

Ichigo would admit that he was afraid to tell him, because he didn't know what would happen. It was easy and thoughtless to slash down hollows and spar with friends. It was easy and thoughtless to face down with Kenpachi or Grimmjow, because he knew exactly what was coming at him.

This time, things were very different.

--

"Are you really _that_ afraid to tell him?" Rukia asked skeptically, crossing her arms and raising one eyebrow. She wore a classy, rich purple cocktail dress, and had pulled her dark hair up into a stylish twist.

Ichigo fidgeted with his tie, avoiding her eyes.

"There's really nothing to worry about, you know. You're father is a good man." Rukia smiled and took his elbow, leading him towards the front door of their apartment.

"I know." Ichigo said blandly, allowing himself to be dragged along. "It's just… he's so… he's such a …" He struggled to find the right words.

"A knucklehead?" She teased.

Ichigo smiled tightly. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess he is.

"That's what I'm worried about, though."

--

"Ichi-niiii! I've missed you!"

Ichigo stumbled backwards as one of his younger sisters bowled into him, hugging him tightly around the waist. She buried her face into the front of his tuxedo.

He grinned, and hugged her back. "I've missed you too, Yuzu."

"'Bought time you showed up." A monotone of a voice drawled from the top of the stairs. "'Father's' been having fits all evening waiting for you guys."

"Good to know, Karin." Ichigo suddenly remembered why he'd come here in the first place, the smile slipping from his face. Rukia squeezed his hand.

"No problem." The dark haired twin disappeared down the hallway to her room.

"I have to go to bed, soon." Yuzu murmured, disappointed. "Good night, Ichi-nii. You and Rukia-chan will be here in the morning too, right?"

"Of course."

Yuzu smiled, excited once again, before running off to follow Karin.

"Your family _still_ seems the same." Rukia sighed, allowing her eyes to wander the space of Ichigo's kitchen. "I'm glad."

Ichigo replied, cautiously, "Me, too."

And then he led his fiancee towards the living room, where the inevitable was to occur.

--

"Well, you see… uhh… The way it is, is… err… What I'm trying to say is… ehhh… umm…"

Rukia had both hands over her mouth, trying to suppress the laughter, while Ichigo was left stuttering at his slack-faced father.

"Well, you know Rukia… the way it is between… Rukia and I… uhmm… you know…"

"Know _what_, my son?" Isshin asked boisterously, slapping Ichigo on the back. He rose his eyebrows up and down several times. "Are you trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me? That you're no longer a ---"

"--- BACHELOR." Ichigo interrupted, red in the face. "That's what I'm trying to say, dad. That I am no longer a _bachelor_."

Rukia snorted, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"OH? OH, OH, OH?" A twinkle appeared in Isshin's eyes, and Ichigo scooted closer to where Rukia was sitting on the couch, grasping her hand.

"Well." Ichigo's father was suddenly there, kneeling in front of both of them on the floor. His face held an oddly benign expression, which his son immediately distrusted.

"No need to look so angry, my son." Isshin said softly, looking between the two of them. "You're getting married. To a lovely young woman, I might add."

Rukia discreetly nudged Ichigo in the side with an 'I-told-you-so' nudge.

"In that case," Isshin smiled, "Take with you my blessings, young Ichigo and Rukia. Take them well, and may many forms of happiness go with you over the years."

Unexpectedly, Ichigo felt a lump form in his throat. He rarely ever saw his own dad so sentimental, so calm, so… fatherly.

It was kind of strange. But it was a good kind of strange. "Thank you, Dad --- I don't know what to sa ---"

"OHO, AND MAY YOU ALSO BEAR ME MANY GRANDCHILDREN BEFORE I GROW OLD."

--


End file.
